Seizures and thyroid

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donding

donding

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Sorry but this is going to be rather long...

I am wondering how many of you have associated seizures with possible thyroid problems. I've been doing research and found some really interesting information. I have seizures about every 30 to 45 days all at once within a 24 hour period. I've always suspected my seizures as being caused by hormones because of the 30 to 45 timing. It doesn't matter what level of stress...they come on like clockwork no matter what the circumstance is. Up until about 3 months ago I was always thin and had energy to spare. Now I'm always tired no matter how much sleep I get. I'm always cold even when it's warm. I have hot flashes in the middle of the night even through I'm on estrigen. I sometimes have swelling in my hands and feet. My joints all kill me all the time. I have lost alot of my strength. I always get tingling in my shoulder. I have no desire to do anything. I have the blurred vision and hearing loss. I can't remember what I was getting ready to do. I have started having speech problems. I can forget what I was saying in the middle of a sentence. The list goes on and on. My thyroid level has been checked once or twice in the past, but only the basic test, and has always been normal. I am beginning to wonder if I'm having Thyrotoxic Episodes. From what I have researched these can go undetected because your thyroid levels go up and down.

Anyone else experience this?
 
Well, Here's my bit on this. I was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Started on synthroid. Immediatly started having multiple seizures. They are not completely controlled anyway, but definately much worse. About 10 days, much better. Going in to recheck thyroid level. Scared...but interestingly my neurologist told me that thyroid and seizures are NOT connected. Personally I think that is CRAZY. Thyroid is a hormone, and I have noticed during my period and ovulation that I have many seizures. So hormone levels and seizures, in my case, are definately related. In fact seizures began when I started birth control pills (also hormones). So my thoughts are keep a close eye on thyroid levels.
 
There is absolutely a connection between hormones and seizures, and between the thyroid and seizures! Because the thyroid is a superthermostat for much that goes on in the body, messing with thyroid levels is a tricky business, even if you don't already have a lowered seizure threshold. I hope your thyroid doc and neurologist get on the same page, stat.
 
Thanks for that link, Robin. And I will chime in on this discussion. I have hyopthroidism due to Hashimoto's. I haven't had my levels checked in a while as I have been so busy in the last year with the E escapades. Well, I have SPS with olfactory aura only (which also is gustatory too), so definitely focal seizures. I have not felt 100% great in at least 3 years when my thyroid levels went wacky following a serious illness. (this though was AFTER my first aura occurred)
Though my thyroid medication was increased, I still am fairly tired, but it is such a fine line between just daily life stress, other medical issues, as well as for the last 1 1/2 years having a daily burn smell that persists all day! (although the addition of Depakote ER has made a difference in the last two months tremendously!) I noticed in that article the mention of the rare cases of Hashimoto's Encephalopathy and connection with focal seizures. Interesting, though I doubt that is the case with me-I've had an MRI of the brain that I would think have detected that one! But still, I wonder though, if the hypothyroidism in general is an issue since I never really trust that blood levels alone mean all is well; but my neuro knows about my thyroid issue. I have been on thyroid medication for 17 years and the SPS issues surfaced 3 years ago. (though I dealt with the symptoms for over a year before I even asked my primary care dr, and it ended up being 3 years of symptoms before I was on AED medication, seeing a neurologist, etc)
 
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I hate to talk bad about neurologist, but many of them don't know what they are talking about or all they want to do is medicate and not find the source for the problem. I have found through my experience that some of the neurologist out there don't know anything about seizures. Needless to say when I get this feeling about one I find another.

It is extremely frustrating when you try to talk to them and they make you feel stupid and say that has nothing to do with it. If they would only start listening to their patients, they might actually put two and two together.

After I get moved and find a new neurologist (wish me luck!) I am going print out everything that I feel will convince them that I am on to something here, so they can't say...thyroid and seizures are NOT connected. I really hope I am on to something and I'm not just grasping at more worn out straws.
 
Donding,

A full thyroid panel is pretty easy for either your neuro or your primary care physician to run. Have they done one? If the results were out of normal range, then have that treated by your primary care doc., and let your neuro know. If that's truly the problem then that treatment should make things better.

You don't need your neuro for everything. I love my primary care doc., who is quite savvy and ran a slew of tests to eliminate root causes for siezures., and sent the results to my neuro. A full thyroid panel was one of them.
 
P.S. The doc ran the thyroid panel more than once, 3x 6 mo. apart to be sure. Maybe that would address the fluxuation issue?
 
Endless

Once I move I will have to find a primary care physician also. I started having seizures in 1995 and shortly after that they ran a "basic" thyroid test...of course it was normal. Then when I went on the Lamactal in 2004 they ran a "basic" one again and again it was normal. I have never had one run that was extensive to see if there really is a thyroid problem. After doing alot of research about this I have learned alot about the thyroid and I am going to make sure they do the complete screening. I have all the symptoms now and I feel like they have been there for sometime, I just never knew what they were.
 
I've had epilepsy for 30 years now and hypothyroid started when I was put on Tegretol. I've been on numerous AEDs since then and still have thyroid problems, as does my mother, both sisters and an aunt. My 27 year old daughter was diagnosed within the past year with Hashimoto's disease, so in some families, it is hereditary. I also feel that some of the medications used to treat epilepsy can cause/alter the thyroid.

From www.mythyroid.com:

A number of medications available either over the counter, or through a doctors prescription, may affect thyroid function and cause hyper or hypothyroidism. Medications or foods containing excess Iodine may cause either hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism in susceptible individuals, and patients with thyroid disease who have not had their thyroid removed should generally avoid such medicines. Over the counter cough and cold remedies will often contain small amounts of iodine or stimulants (norepinephrine, neosynephrine, adrenaline etc) that may affect blood pressure and heart rate. Health food supplements containing kelp or seaweed extracts may contain substantial amounts of iodine which may also precipitate or exacerbate thyroid disease in susceptible persons.

Medications that may cause Hypothyroidism

Lithium, Amiodarone, sulfonamides, Bexarotene, ethionamide, anticonvulsants, Iodine, Interferon, high dose Glucocorticoids ('steroids'), Oral cholecystographic agents for visualization of the gall bladder, Sunitinib and other tyrosine kinase inhibitors, Proton pump inhibitors

Medications used to treat seizure disorders (epilepsy) may also affect thyroid function. Dilantin may displace thyroid hormone binding and produce abnormal thyroid blood tests, but thyroid function in Dilantin-treated patients is usually normal. Children taking medications for seizure control, such as valproic acid or carbamazepine may also be at increased risk for the development of hypothyroidism. Epilepsia 1999 Dec;40(12):1761-6 Long-term treatment of children with epilepsy with valproate or carbamazepine may cause subclinical hypothyroidism.

Medications used for the Treatment of HYPOTHYROIDISM

L-thyroxine or Levothyroxine (Thyroid hormone, or T4)

The most common medicine prescribed for the treatment of hypothyroidism is L-thyroxine, commonly known as the principal thyroid hormone or T4 (levothyroxine). The thyroxine provided in tablet form is identical to the thyroxine made by your own thyroid. Hence once patients establish the correct dose of L-thyroxine replacement they need to return their thyroid function to normal, side effects are few to non-existent as our bodies cannot distinguish L-thyroxine secreted from our thyroids from L-thyroxine absorbed via tablet form. Allergies to thyroid hormone generally do not occur, and allergies to dye or other constituents present in the thyroid hormone tablet have been reported but are extremely rare. The 50 ug tablet has no color additives and hence is not usually a problem even for patients with dye allergies. As thyroxine has a long half life (5-7 days) and disappears slowly from your system, it needs to be taken only once a day. Hence, even if a patient forgets to take thyroxine on any given day, the circulating levels of thyroxine will generally be only very slightly perturbed.

Thyroxine therapy is usually initiated in a small dose, perhaps 25-50 ug once daily, and a repeat set of blood tests, commonly a TSH, is repeated after ~ 4 weeks to ascertain if the prescribed dose is correct. In young healthy patients without other co-existing illnesses, thyroxine treatment may be initiated at higher doses, with the ultimate expected replacement dose being ~1.6 ug/kg/day (1 kg = 2.2 lbs). It is important to remember that thyroxine (T4) is converted to T3, a more active short-acting form of thyroid hormone, in our bodies by an enzyme known as a deiodinase. Hence prescribing T4 allows the body to convert T4 to T3 as needed in a physiologically regulated manner. Whether prescribing both T4 and T3 confers added benefits over prescribing T4 alone is the subject of ongoing controversy and requires careful study in well designed randomized clinical trials. More information on this topic is found in Optimal Thyroid Hormone Replacement. Thyroxine ingested in the fasted state will produce slightly higher levels of circulating thyroid hormone and a lower TSH compared to thyroxine ingested before meals or at bed time as outlined in Timing of Levothyroxine Administration Affects Serum Thyrotropin Concentration.

Drug interactions and absorption: Thyroxine therapy will enhance the response to anticoagulant therapy, hence patients taking oral anticoagulants should be monitored carefully. A number of hormones, steroids, anticonvulsants, or psychotropic medications may affect thyroxine binding to circulating proteins. Iron, often found in multivitamins, may interfere with absorption of thyroxine and should not be taken at the same time of day as the thyroid tablet. Nevertheless, patients with iron deficiency anemia who have mild hypothyroidism may gain important benefits after treatment of the hypothyroidism with thyroxine, with a significant rise in levels of iron and hemoglobin after correction of hypothyroidism
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